The best way to hide a secret was inside another secret. Likewise, once a drop of water entered the ocean, it could never be found again.
Izakaya
"You're saying White Fang caused the village such a huge loss. How come he wasn't punished?"
"White Fang? Is that really important? Haven't you heard about the other thing?"
"What happened now? Come on, tell me!"
The man glanced around to make sure no one was nearby, then beckoned the other closer and whispered, "Ever since what happened to Lord White Fang got out, all kinds of secrets about the ninja have been spreading too. Do you remember how the Third became Hokage?"
The other man rolled his eyes. "What's there to remember? It was the Second's dying wish, wasn't it? Everyone in the village knows that."
"You know one thing, but not the other. Who said the Second had named Sarutobi Hiruzen as the Third? Wasn't it those few themselves?
"At the time, they were the Hokage Guard Platoon. If they ran into danger, they should've covered the Second's retreat. But look how things turned out. I bet the lot of them conspired with the Cloud ninja to get the Hokage Position, and that's what got the Second killed.
"Think about it. Every one of them is in a high position now, with more power and wealth than you can count. And Kagami from the Uchiha Clan—the only one among the Second's disciples who wasn't on good terms with them—died under mysterious circumstances around that time too. Think about it carefully. Could they have killed him to silence him?"
As he spoke, the man held one hand like a blade and pretended to slash his own throat.
"What! So that's the truth? I'd heard before that the Third seemed kind and amiable in public, but secretly used a crystal ball to peep at the open-air bathhouse. I always knew he was no good," the other villager said, suddenly enlightened.
"Wrong! You clearly don't understand. The Second went to his death willingly for the sake of the next generation." Suddenly, another villager appeared behind them. It seemed he'd been listening for a while.
"The truth is, Senju Tobirama and his disciple Sarutobi Hiruzen had always been close when they were younger. The rumor was that Sarutobi Hiruzen wanted to become Hokage... That's why the Second sacrificed his life to cover the Guard Platoon's retreat and named Sarutobi Hiruzen as the Third."
"Huh? That can't be right. Two men—surely it couldn't have gone that far..." The two men looked doubtful.
"You don't believe me? Think about it. The Second never married in his entire life, and no one ever heard of him having a special relationship with any woman, right?
"After Sarutobi Hiruzen became Hokage, he married Biwako Sarutobi from his clan to cover up his relationship with his teacher. But in truth, he didn't love her. All these years, Sarutobi Hiruzen hasn't even wanted to go home. He's always stayed in the Hokage building just to reminisce about his former teacher, Senju Tobirama."
"You really do have the inside scoop." Before long, the izakaya had filled with people.
"Do you know this one, then? Years ago, Lord Shimura Danzo had a crush on Utatane Koharu, who was on his team. But Utatane Koharu had her heart set on Lord Kagami, who was more handsome, stronger, and from the Uchiha Clan.
"Consumed by jealousy, Danzo secretly killed Lord Kagami during a mission to win back the love of his life. I heard he even dug out his Sharingan."
"What! He actually killed his comrade? No wonder. I heard that lord was known as the 'Darkness of Konoha' and did all sorts of bad things in secret." Everyone was shocked.
Another person suddenly stepped forward, looking confident. "You definitely haven't heard this one. We can chat about it here, but don't go telling anyone I said it."
"Come on, tell us!" The people beside him were drinking and listening to the story, unable to wait any longer.
"Let me tell it from the beginning. We were just talking about Lord Shimura Danzo, right? You might not know that when he was young, Danzo dreamed of becoming Hokage too.
"Later, his friend Sarutobi Hiruzen became the Third through unfair competition. Danzo couldn't accept it, but he never gave up. He kept working hard in secret, hoping to run for Fourth Hokage one day.
"But some time ago, Lord White Fang had earned so much merit that he was given the title 'Hokage Half-Sleeve.' To eliminate a rival, Shimura Danzo leaked Lord White Fang's whereabouts and intelligence to ninja from the Land of Lightning.
"He orchestrated Lord White Fang's failed mission, then spread rumors around the village to ruin his reputation."
Everyone realized what had happened. "So that's why the story about Lord White Fang spread so quickly." "Lord White Fang had done so much for the village. I even spoke up for him before." "Well, what can you do? It's all Danzo's fault."
"Didn't someone just say Danzo had a crush on Utatane Koharu? I'll tell you something in confidence. A while ago, I saw Utatane Koharu and Lord Mitokado Homura go into a little room together. They didn't come out for ages."
The Konoha building issued a notice: Recently, spies from other countries have infiltrated Konoha and spread baseless rumors. Residents are urged not to believe or participate in them. Anyone caught spreading rumors will be considered to be colluding with spies and dealt with severely.
For a time, all of Konoha was on edge, and the rumors abruptly stopped in public.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had been feeling miserable lately. His strength and status had long since reached the peak of his life; the only thing he cared about now was his reputation.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone around the village so often to make his presence known, or hidden the claim that "the Third is the strongest Hokage" in the Ninja Academy textbooks.
When he'd seen Danzo tarnish Hatake Sakumo's reputation, Sarutobi Hiruzen had secretly praised his old friend for being sensible. How could he let anyone else lay claim to the Hokage Position? He hadn't expected things to deteriorate so badly in just a few days.
Sarutobi Hiruzen now had to use the Transformation Technique whenever he went out. He simply couldn't bear the villagers' pointing and staring.
After issuing the notice through the Hokage building, Sarutobi Hiruzen decided to call in everyone involved in the rumors and hold a meeting to put an end to the matter.
Under everyone's peculiar gazes, Shimura Danzo couldn't hold back and struck first. "Uchiha Fugaku! The Anbu handle matters related to the village and the ninja. The Military Police Force only needs to maintain order among the civilians. Is the Uchiha Clan incapable of handling even such a small matter? The rumors have spread this far, and you're the captain of the Military Police Force. What punishment do you deserve?"
Uchiha Fugaku wasn't angry. If he'd been targeted like this before, he would've lost his temper long ago. But lately, Fugaku had been in a good mood. He'd never expected to see such a fine show, and two bottles of the good wine he'd stashed at home had already disappeared.
Without hurrying or even acknowledging Shimura Danzo, Fugaku addressed Sarutobi Hiruzen directly. "Lord Hokage, rumors spread from one person to ten, then from ten to a hundred. I'm afraid nine out of every ten people have taken part. Are we supposed to arrest them all?
"Since its founding, Konoha has never punished anyone for what they say. The Military Police Force's regulations don't restrict what villagers can discuss in their daily lives, either. Of course, if the Hokage building can issue a direct order, I suppose Konoha Prison could be expanded."
Sarutobi Hiruzen took a deep drag from his pipe and spoke slowly. "Fugaku, what you just said sounds like it has some merit. But setting all that aside, now that things have gotten this bad, shouldn't your Military Police Force take responsibility for its mistake?"
Fugaku hadn't expected Sarutobi Hiruzen to shamelessly dump the blame on the Uchiha Clan. Anger welled up in him, but he was at a loss for words.
Seeing this, Genichi stepped forward. "Lord Hokage, once rumors start spreading, they're hard to control. But at the beginning, they were clearly targeting Senior Sakumo. Couldn't we use that to find the culprit?"
The Third glanced at Danzo without thinking. Danzo snorted and said nothing.
Only then did Hiruzen speak. "Genichi, that's a good idea. But it's been so many days that the people who spread the rumors at the start have already slipped away. I'm afraid it'll be difficult to find the mastermind."
"That's true, Lord Hokage. But I think the most important thing for Konoha right now is to put an end to this storm of rumors. We can investigate the culprit later," Genichi said confidently.
"I've already thought of a way. We can resolve this today."
Everyone was surprised. Sarutobi Hiruzen hurriedly said, "Tell us your idea."
Genichi took his time and began, "Let me ask everyone a question. If someone in Konoha did something bad today, then tell me—who is that person?"
It was a completely nonsensical, illogical question with insufficient information—one that would've made even a first-year Ninja Academy student shake their head. And yet everyone instinctively looked at Shimura Danzo.
Sensing the faint attention of the others, Danzo suddenly felt he couldn't clear his name no matter what he said. The rumors that came afterward really had nothing to do with him. "You're accusing Konoha's Hokage Advisor without any evidence!"
"I never said that person was Lord Danzo," Genichi replied with a smile.
Taking Genichi's hint, Sarutobi Hiruzen understood. He mused to himself, Right. The most important thing now is to put an end to the rumors. Isn't that what Danzo is for? At this point, simply saying that spies spread the rumors probably isn't enough. We need someone with enough standing to take responsibility.
Besides, this whole thing started because of Danzo. Now he can put an end to it too.
Noticing the change in his friend's gaze, Danzo understood what he was thinking. Unwilling to sit back and wait, he cried out agitatedly, "Hiruzen, you..."
Genichi cut him off. "Speaking of which, I've always wondered why Lord Danzo is wrapped in bandages. It can't be like the rumors say, can it—that he stole Senior Kagami Uchiha's Sharingan?"
"What are you talking about!" This was no place to stay. Danzo pretended to be furious, got up, and headed for the door. "They're only rumors! I, Shimura Danzo, will shoulder all the rumors of Konoha!"
He slammed the door on his way out. From outside came the voice, "Hiruzen, you'll regret this!"
Soon afterward, the Hokage building issued a new notice: The recent rumors were started by Hokage Advisor Shimura Danzo for personal reasons, then exploited by spies from outside the village. They have spread to this point. Everyone is urged to consider them critically and not be misled by spies.
Due to the serious consequences of the incident, Shimura Danzo has now been relieved of his position as Hokage Advisor and placed under house arrest for reflection.
The villagers read the notice and nodded repeatedly, all saying they believed it.
After leaving the Hokage building, Shimura Danzo went straight to Orochimaru's laboratory.
"Orochimaru, replace my eye with an ordinary one."
Orochimaru kept working on his experiment without looking up and asked in confusion, "What, is the Sharingan putting too much strain on you? That shouldn't be the case."
"Hmph. The First Hokage Serum you developed is indeed impressive. I feel several years younger. One Sharingan is no problem," Danzo said.
"Things have been tense lately. I can't let the Uchiha Clan get anything to use against me. When can we start human experiments? You've been researching this for so long. How much longer until you can master the power of the God of Shinobi?"
"Heh." Orochimaru didn't answer directly. "It won't be that soon. Wood Style is different from ordinary bloodline limits. Even a member of the Senju Clan would have no chance of surviving if it were injected directly. Aren't you satisfied with the First Hokage Serum?"
"I'm very satisfied with its effects, but isn't it a little too expensive?" Shimura Danzo had suggested restarting the Wood Style Experiment so he could use the village's money to further his own aims. He hadn't expected Orochimaru's research into the First Hokage Serum to use up the village's entire budget—and cost him several billion on top of that. Root's funding for the next several years had been spent in advance.
"Scientific research is like that in the early stages. Once the technology matures, the cost will come down too. These are all necessary sacrifices to bring back the First's power," Orochimaru explained with a smile.
Even without looking at the experiment's financial reports, Danzo knew the snake had no doubt swallowed up a great deal of his funding behind his back. But he had no choice. All his subordinates were useless at research; not one could compare to Orochimaru.
Danzo suddenly thought of something else. "Wait, wasn't that guy Hiruko from Orochimaru's class secretly researching something? Does he have a talent for this sort of thing?"
Before you continue